The belief that “He who has all the gold makes all the rules” is literally in effect. In today’s Idaho Legislature, “making the rules” often means suspending them. When the rules are constantly suspended, there are no rules. There are five procedural rules that ensure the public is aware of a potential new law before it is voted on:
- The draft of a bill is publicly introduced in a committee hearing. If approved, it is given a bill number, allowing the public access to it.
- The new bill appears on the First Reading Calendar during the meeting of the full House. This informs the public of the new bill’s existence.
- The bill is then introduced in committee with a full public hearing. After public testimony, the committee votes whether to recommend the bill.
- If recommended, the bill appears on the Second Reading Calendar, providing public notification of its progress.
- The bill then moves to the Third Reading Calendar, where the bill is debated and voted on by all 70 House members.
This process is deliberately diligent and lengthy to ensure the public has sufficient advance notice and ample opportunity to be aware, understand, research and give testimony on a proposed new law before it comes to a vote.
But when the rules are routinely suspended, all of that goes by the wayside. That’s what happens with many bills, including the new so-called property tax reduction bill (H389) that is now causing the City of Meridian to raise property taxes.
This 26-page bill was introduced on the House floor within a few hours of being unveiled – without sufficient committee notice, without in-depth analysis, without input from key stakeholder organizations, and without any public testimony. I debated against this bill for that very reason.
This is how perpetual one-party control undermines good government. It allows political leaders to suspend the rules because they have enough “gold” (control of legislative seats) to do what they want.
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